Patriots
by Pookie2
Summary: The Courier assists in the final preparations for war. Part 12 of the "All the Things You Are" storyline. Rated for language, violence, sexual innuendo.
1. Yankee Doodle Dandy

"You're a fucking idiot if you think I'm going to stand for this," Cachino fumed. The Courier massaged her forehead as the man continued yelling. "This little 'merger' of yours is benefiting everyone but me!"

Layla felt her jaw clench. She was starting to suspect the little rat was trying to blackmail her with the percentage increase she'd already given him. Cachino didn't know the other families had received an increase as well. Next to her, she could hear Veronica's powerfist creak. It only made that noise when she was clenching her hand fairly tight.

"All right, Cachino, I've had enough of you," came, surprisingly, from Swank. The Chairman had been patient throughout the entire process and had caused Layla the least amount of trouble. But it looked like even he was about done dealing with the Omerta.

"What are you going to do, little man?" Cachino shot back testily. "She's been giving you everything you want. The way I see it, you're the one with the most to lose if I walk out of here."

"We will all suffer if we don't come to an agreement," Marjorie said stiffly. The White Glove had been pretty easy to deal with, like Swank, but Layla knew she was sick of this mess too.

"Which means you'd better find a way to make me happy," Cachino retorted. Layla felt the last strand of her patience snap as she stood.

"I'm not giving you a signing bonus. I'm not giving you a yearly bonus. And I'm not giving you your own private securitron force. You either sign this agreement right now, or I'm leaving you out of these negotiations. And if you think NCR is going to put up with even half of your shit, you're mistaken."

"You wouldn't-" Cachino started before Layla cut him off.

"Yeah I would, and I'm going to goddamn remind them that the Omertas were planning on bombing the embassy while I do."

He was silent for a moment after that. Layla could almost hear the wheels in his head working to figure out some way to continue this argument.

"Fine, give me the fucking paper," he finally grumbled. Handing it over, Layla nearly wept with joy as the man signed the 'official' negotiation documents. Sneering, he tossed the papers back.

"You're a real bitch, you know that?"

*.*.*

"When this shit is over, I'm going back west and letting the Mojave sort it's own goddamn self out." Layla grumbled as she and Veronica left the elevator.

"Got the Families eating out of your hand yet?" Raul called from the kitchen. Layla stuck her head in the door with a snarl.

"I hope Cachino chokes on his money."

The ghoul laughed as she exited the doorway. She kicked off her heels as she made for her bedroom, not bothering to pick them up as she threw herself onto her bed. That bastard Omerta was the most annoying man in the entire world. She'd rather have tea with Vulpes and Lanius at this point than deal with the prick for another minute.

But it was over. The Three Families and Layla had a plan worked out and signed. Once the fight for the Dam came and went, something that seemed like it was going to be awful soon, she'd officially take their terms to Crocker. He'd go over them, then they'd barter for what terms stayed and what went. Once it was all agreed, he'd send it on to California. Then California would hopefully okay it. Then it would be 'officially' signed here in the Mojave. Then her short and annoying rule of New Vegas would come to an end. Then she'd get drunk and sleep for a month.

That was all assuming she survived the coming battle. If she didn't, she'd left a will in Primm with Mr. Nash naming Cass as her successor in the rule of New Vegas. She hadn't mentioned it to the caravaneer for a variety of reasons; mostly, she didn't want Cass to refuse.

The woman was the best choice Layla could think of. She had years of experience running a business, which was the closest any of the group had to ruling a sovereign nation. She was an NCR citizen, but had no clear political affiliation. Arcade being a Follower would make things ugly; half the government considered the group terrorists. Ditto with Veronica, except nearly everyone in the NCR considered the Brotherhood terrorists. She'd briefly thought about giving it to Boone, but his army background would lead to claims that the whole thing was an NCR plot. Although Layla would have paid good money to fake her own death just to hear Boone's public speeches.

'_People of the Mojave… that is all.'_ She giggled at the thought.

If Cass died as well, Raul was next in line. If all three of them died, then everything went to Marcus. That would be good; the anti-mutant fuckers in California would probably have a stroke.

She briefly thought about putting Marcus first, but didn't want to go through the paperwork again. There was a knock on her door, and she looked up to see Arcade holding her shoes in the doorway.

"I nearly killed myself tripping over these," he said.

"Whoops, sorry," Layla said with a grin as he walked in, dropping the shoes on the coffee table.

"There's something I need to talk to you about…"

"Oh?" Layla felt her stomach flip as she sat up. She'd known for a while now there was something he'd been hiding from her. She hadn't pushed, figuring that tactic wouldn't work on him like it had Boone. The doctor pushed the glasses up his nose as he looked her way.

"I was walking to the 38 this morning when a woman on the street stopped me. She told me that my wife was cheating on me."

"What?" Layla gave him a perplexed look, then a realization dawned on her. She must not have been hiding it very well, because Arcade nodded knowingly as he continued.

"I asked her what she meant, and apparently, the nice woman had seen my 'wife' turn down a man who propositioned her at the Tops, only to see her pick up someone else at the Gomorrah."

"I… well, I haven't been picking people up anywhere," Layla said rapidly. "So I hope you're not suggesting I've been spreading these crazy stories." She nearly sagged in relief. She'd be able to pass the blame on to Cass and get away scot-free-

"Well, the thing is, there was kindly old man who told me a similar story, only his went to the tune of my 'wife' mentioning me by name one minute, then gallivanting around with a, and I quote, 'NCR goon in a beret.'"

Layla bit her lip. Thinking quickly, she got up and ran out of the room.

"Boone!" she cried as she reached the hallway. The sniper leapt out of the rec room, looking ready to kill whatever was threatening her. That was good.

She skittered behind him just as Arcade walked out of her room, looking less than happy. The doctor spotted her as she peeked out from behind the sniper.

"Boone, if you don't let him kill me, I'll triple your pay," Layla said. Arcade was within grabbing distance now.

"Come on, let me wring her neck, just a little," said the doctor. Boone merely crossed his arms over his chest and remained still. Sweet, dependable Boone; he was getting so many snack cakes for this.

"What the hell is going on out here?" she heard as Veronica appeared from the bedroom.

"Veronica did it too!" Layla cried. "She called you 'her little love doctor!'"

"You bitch!" the scribe cried in shock. "You said you had a bad case of 'Arcade-itis' and he had the only cure!'"

"What are you people talking about?" said Raul as he walked in from the kitchen, eating an apple.

"Apparently I'm married to every woman here. I'm just a great dodge for would-be suitors," Arcade groused.

"I don't think Lily's done it," Veronica said, "and I can't _believe_ you ratted me out!"

"You'd have done the same," Layla called back.

"So… how much is she worth to you?" Raul said, and Layla noticed he had a direct line on her. If Boone moved to deflect the ghoul, Arcade could probably reach past him and get her.

"I've got a whole crate of sarsaparilla with your name on it," said the doctor.

"ED-E!" Layla cried. The robot came zooming in. "Audio warfare!"

The robot's speakers crackled to life and began playing 'Something's Gotta Give,' loudly enough to drown out all other sounds in the room.

"Not worth it!" Raul shouted, ducking back into the kitchen to escape the sound. Just as she was about to order a tactical retreat, the elevator door opened, and a securitron rolled in.

"I have a message for 'Layla Granville!'" She barely heard it over the music.

"Hold on, ED-E," she said. It took several seconds for her ears to recover enough to hear the message.

*.*.*

"What on earth happened between you and Colonel Moore?" Ambassador Crocker asked, making Layla's stomach drop. She'd actively taken steps to make sure Moore didn't get in trouble for their 'argument.' The one that ended in the gigantic bruise still healing on the Courier's face. All present (once the Colonel had left) agreed it hadn't happened.

"Um… nothing," she answered lamely. "Why?"

"This just arrived from the dam." He handed the Courier a message. She accepted it, noting it was on clean, high-quality paper.

'_Layla Granville,_

_This is an official request by the New California Republic Rangers for your services as an independent contractor. If interested, report to the Hoover Dam at 1500 on June 2__nd__, 2282._

_Sincerely,_

_Ranger J. Grant_

_Colonel Cassandra Moore'_

Confused, Layla looked back at Crocker. "I don't get it."

"That is the official form sent to civilians of interest in military operations," the ambassador explained. "They usually only send those as signs of respect to high-level contractors and diplomats from other nations or political groups. It marks you officially in NCR records."

Layla sat back in her chair, feeling a burst of giddiness, and looked over the paper again. The feeling faded quickly; what was Moore angling at? If it were nearly anyone else, she'd think the other woman was trying to get in her good books to keep her from blowing the whistle. But she'd believe Moore had sprouted wings and flown east before she'd think the woman had it in her to ass kiss.

"Do you know what the mission is?" she asked. The paper didn't really go into details. Though that probably made sense, especially if this situation was sensitive or classified. Crocker nodded with a serious look on his face. He seemed to come to some kind of decision, then smiled.

"Technically I'm not supposed to tell you." He shrugged. "But you'll probably find out on your own; The President's visit is the day after they've asked you to report. They want you backing up security."

"Oh," the Courier said, looking at the paper again. "Oh boy."

* * *

><p>The next chapter of 'Patriots' will come out on the 16th, then we'll be back to normal WednesdaySaturday rotation. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and thank you for reading (and reviewing, favoriting or alerting, if you happen to).

Happy Skyrim day! I'll be picking flowers, hiding from dragons and wishing there was a sniper backing me up!

And happy Veterans Day!


	2. Battle Hymn of the Republic

"Why is it I'm here again?" Arcade asked, looking at the sea of NCR troopers milling around the dam. It was the second of the month, and Layla found herself over-excited about the president's visit. Not because she liked the man. She'd actually been very disappointed in Kimball's policies since he took office, especially his stance on forcing 'civilization' on tribals. But she was more worried than happy about this situation; the Legion wasn't going to waste this opportunity. In fact, they'd probably think someone was doing them a favor by presenting their enemy's leader in an open venue in the middle of a war zone.

As for Arcade, well, Layla didn't want to admit that she'd asked the doctor to go with her because she still felt bad about the husband thing. Turning his way, she smiled broadly.

"For conniving political reasons," she answered. He gave her an incredulous look, and she continued. "Same with Rexie, right boy?" The dog barked at her, and she reached down to rub his sides.

"I'm not sure what that means," the doctor groused.

"It's simple," Layla explained as Rex tried to lick her face. "You're here as part of my 'team.' We were asked here to help protect the president. That's all fancy and prestigious and such. And it'll look real good for the Followers to have one of their handsome-doctor-types here helping out. And I've told everyone I've come across that Rex is on loan from the King, therefore the same goodwill publicity for the Kings too."

The cyberdog slathered her in drool, and she grimaced. "That, and a old-world super advanced K-9 unit and a highly trained doctor are always good to have on hand."

"I see." Arcade shook his head. "Are you sure you don't want to stay in charge of Vegas? You do seem to have a head for subtle politicking."

The Courier stood from Rex, wiping off the slobber she hadn't been able to avoid. "No thanks." She turned an amused look in the doctor's direction. "Do you know how to create laws on supply lines, then coordinate their purchase, transportation, delivery, payment? Then create taxes and collect them when applied to the goods that come in?"

"Well… not really," the doctor admitted.

"Exactly. That was the kind of stuff House did for _fun_. I'd have a very short rule with a very messy end. Like when I throw myself off the top of the 38 with a note that says 'Mercy killing.'"

Boone, who had been scanning the area behind her, snorted. She turned to give him a mock-glower, then noticed who was coming their way.

"There you are," Colonel Moore called. Layla approached her warily. The Courier didn't expect the other woman to attack her again, but this formal invitation business had her worried.

"Ranger Grant will want to see you," the colonel explained. "He's in charge of security." She hesitated, like whatever she was about to say was giving her trouble. For a crazy moment, Layla thought she was going to apologize. "The president has asked to meet you after the speech. There's talk that he'll be going to Camp McCarran after he gets done here. He hoped you'd go later today."

Layla gaped. "The president's asking about me?"

"You are the head of New Vegas," Arcade pointed out. Layla bit her lip and nodded, noting Moore was looking at the doctor with disdain.

"Yes, well, that will be later. Ranger Grant is waiting. Dismissed."

She walked off before the Courier could respond. Layla looked behind at her companions, who both shrugged. Returning the shrug, she started off in search of the ranger in question.

Entering the visitor's center, she spotted a group of rangers gathered around the reception desk. A man with an eye patch was clearly giving orders to the gathered group. Layla stepped up to the desk, hoping she had the right guy.

"..and I swear I'll break every bone in your worthless bodies if I catch one of you not at your post!" the eye-patched ranger bellowed. He seemed to notice Layla then, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" the man barked.

"I…" Flustered, she held up the paper with her summons. The ranger pulled it from her hands and glanced it over.

"Oh, you're Layla, huh?" He looked at her again. "I thought you'd be taller."

"Uh, yeah. I hear that a lot," the Courier replied as she got back on her mental footing. "Are you Ranger Grant?"

"I am." He handed back the paper. The sneer on his face had lightened somewhat. "We're happy to have you aboard."

"I appreciate the invite," Layla said, then looked over her shoulder. "This is my team, Boone and Arcade." There was a bark from behind her and she grinned, "Oh, and Rex."

The ranger looked over the others as she indicated them. The Courier noted that he'd given a slightly incredulous look to Arcade.

"So what's the plan?" she asked.

"The president is due to arrive midday tomorrow." He handed her a printed copy of the itinerary. "My people have their orders. What I want you to do is back us up. You're a fresh set of eyes, might find something we forgot."

Layla nodded thoughtfully as the man continued.

"Have a look around. We've got a room set up for you for the night. In the morning you can do another sweep before things get started. Put your people wherever you think they'll do the most good, and let me know if you find anything suspicious."

Layla nodded, then spoke before she could stop herself.

"I don't like this whole set up."

Grant laughed loudly at that. "No one does."

*.*.*

"All right boys," Layla said as she surveyed the platform where the president was going to give his speech. "If you were going to off the president, how would you do it?"

They were silent for a moment, then Boone spoke up.

"I'd set up a position on that ridge or on the landing pad." He pointed to the spots as he mentioned them. "If I didn't care about escaping, the tower over there."

"All right…" Layla said. "Get yourself set up in one of those spots to watch the others during the speech. Whichever gives you the best vantage point." The sniper nodded, seeming satisfied with that idea.

"What else?" she asked, looking Arcade's way.

"The Legion wouldn't waste the opportunity to make a scene in front of everyone here," the doctor said thoughtfully. "Maybe a suicide bomber?"

"They won't be able to plant something ahead of time…" Layla said, "but Rexie and I are going to look around to make sure, right boy?" The dog yapped happily. "Anyway, most of the eyes are going to be on the president, except the rangers. But where won't their eyes be?"

"We need to think like they would," Arcade suggested.

"Like a Legionary? Okay." The Courier started waving her arms around as she spoke. "I'm a jackass who only cares about glorious Caesar's will, even though he's dead. This skirt gives me a nice range of motion _and_ shows off my legs." She stopped suddenly. "We should get a roster of any newer workers at the dam, civilians will be the easiest way to sneak something in…"

"Wait, how did that actually work?" Arcade asked, looking Boone's way. The sniper merely shrugged. Layla was back to looking around with a thoughtful expression, then seemed to focus on a nearby ranger. He had a dog on a leash, sniffing the area.

"Let's go make friends, Rexie," the Courier said, and the cyberdog leapt after her while she walked up to the man.

"Easy boy," the ranger said to his dog as he looked up at the group. "You the Courier?"

"Is it that obvious?" Layla asked.

"When the boss tells us a Follower, a 1st Recon vet and a shrimp are running around, it's not hard to pick you out," he said. Layla put her hands on her hips.

"You kids really need to learn how to behave around people trying to help you," she retorted.

"Yeah, so I see," the ranger said as he eyeballed Layla's still-healing, bruised face. Now the Courier was starting to blush.

"So! What are you and your dog searching for?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Barney's sniffing around for Legionaries." He held out the hand that wasn't holding the leash. "The name's Stevens, by the way."

She shook his hand, then looked at Barney. "How can he tell a Legionary from anyone else?" Layla asked, genuinely intrigued. "Do they all wear the same cologne?"

"That's not far from the truth," Stevens said. He reached down and unhooked Barney from his leash. "Barney, Legion!"

The dog came their way, sniffing. When he got to the Courier, he started barking.

"Well that worked like a charm." Arcade said flatly.

"No, he's right," Layla said. "I've been a Legionary this whole time. Surprise!"

Stevens laughed as he called Barney back to his side. "I think I know what this is about. Do you have a bag or something for medical supplies?"

"Yeah," she answered, "why?"

"Let me see it," said the ranger. Layla dug around in her pack, producing her old doctor's bag. She opened it, still looking confused.

"Here it is," Stevens said, reaching in and pulling out a small pouch of healing powder. Barney barked at the sight of it.

"Ahhh, I get it," Layla said. "Legionaries only use healing powder. No stimpaks."

"And if you use healing powder often enough, you start smelling like it," Stevens said, handing the pouch back to Layla. "And the people they send to this shindig will be veterans, which mean they've seen plenty of action, therefore used plenty of powder. It's not foolproof, but Legionaries have a habit of freaking out if you approach them."

"Well aren't you guys clever?" the Courier said, then stooped down to Rex. "Smell this boy? If you smell it on anyone else, let one of us know, okay?"

The dog barked happily, and Stevens shook his head. "Cyberdogs. It took weeks for Barney to learn that."

"Well, thanks Stevens," Layla said. "We're going to have a look around." The ranger waved them along.

Layla spent the next few hours dragging Arcade and Boone around the dam, introducing herself to every ranger in the area while Rex sniffed around. Once both Courier and dog were satisfied that there were no bombs or hidden legionaries wandering around, she announced they were going to bed.

*.*.*

Arcade tried not to dwell on how uncomfortable his cot was. The Lucky 38 had officially spoiled him. Even if he spent most nights trying to wrestle the blanket away from Veronica. The complaint might seem petty, but Arcade had learned years ago to enjoy creature comforts when he could.

Life had been rough when he was young, but since he'd come from California, things had grown comfortable. Eventually, that would turn to boredom and complacency, he admitted to himself.

He'd spent day after day languishing in the back tent of the Old Mormon Fort, feeling useless and distinctly like he wasn't getting any younger. That is, until Layla had wandered in his tent. She'd been all questions and curiosity on his research, which had been irksome. Arcade had settled into his 'behind the scenes' position with the Followers. That meant he was supposed to be undisturbed while he accomplished nothing.

If it hadn't been for Boone, who looked like he would beat him to a pulp if he tried anything, he'd have told Layla to get lost. In the end the girl had talked him into joining her little group.

That was definitely something he could thank Layla for: a change of pace. If someone told him a few months ago he'd be at Hoover Dam trying to protect the president, he'd tell them to take a dose of Fixer and lie down.

But here he was, surrounded by NCR soldiers while trying to console himself with the thought that he wasn't getting noticed. Who would pay attention to some wallflower Follower doctor while the Courier and the guy who shot Caesar were around to talk to? At least, that's what he hoped.

Layla shifted on the cot next to him. She'd been restless all night, making Arcade wonder if she'd even fallen asleep yet. She turned his way.

"Psst… hey Arcade?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry I told half of New Vegas I was married to you to keep them from hitting on me."

The doctor shook his head in the dark. He took a moment to think about whether or not he wanted to let that one go. On one hand, she, Cass and Veronica may have been turning men away from him before he'd ever met them. On the other, he hadn't been exactly looking for a date lately.

"…It's okay. I'd have done the same with you."

He heard the Courier chuckle. "Have you?" she asked. "Used me as a beard?"

"No, I use Cass."

"Oh, good," she laughed quietly. There was a pause before she spoke again. "Hey Boone?"

"Yeah?" came the sniper's reply. Clearly none of them were getting any sleep.

"I know you're staying up to keep watch," said Layla, "but we've got a long day tomorrow. Go to sleep." There was a long pause before the man answered.

"Might be Frumentarii sneaking in. Guard isn't as careful on night shift."

"Yeah, well, they'll definitely be here tomorrow," she said. "I need you in top condition. Besides, Rexie will let us know if there's trouble, right boy?"

There was a bark from the fourth cot.

"See? Now sleep."

The sniper grumbled, but turned over in his cot and was soon snoring.

*.*.*

Layla rubbed her face as she stood in the early morning light as she and her team stood near the speech platform. The Lucky 38 had spoiled her; now if she didn't get coffee in the morning, it took her forever to wake up. Judging by Arcade's ornery expression, he'd been having the same problem. Unsurprisingly, Boone seemed awake and alert as he scanned the area.

It looked like some of the other rangers gathered around were having the same issue getting alert.

"You God Damned fuckups had better wake up or I'm going to beat the tired out of you!" Grant bellowed at them. "Now get into position!"

The rangers all scurried off, and Grant turned to Layla as she approached him.

"The vertibird shouldn't be long," he said. "If you want to have another look around, now's the time." Layla nodded, then turned to Arcade and Boone.

"I guess our best bet is to split up and just keep our eyes open."

"I'll be on the tower," said Boone. It was the logical choice; you could see the stage and everything around it from there. Layla could see a ranger up there already, but she'd bet he wouldn't mind another pair of eyes.

"All right," she said. "Go get set up."

The sniper nodded, then hesitated for a moment. She found the man giving her a strange look for a moment.

"If someone attacks you, just shoot. It doesn't have to hit anyone, but everyone will come running," he said.

"Last time I checked, I'm not the president," she answered, amused. The serious look didn't leave Boone's face.

"He's got a point," Arcade argued. "You're just as much a target as Kimball. If they can get both of you, why not?"

"Oh go on to your spot," Layla said, grinning again. "I'll raise hell if something happens either way." Boone nodded, then started for the tower. She watched him go for a moment before turning back to Arcade.

"Let's check in with Grant one last time," she said, and the doctor nodded. Before they found him, someone in the crowd cried out.

"There it is!"

Looking up, Layla saw a vertibird flying overhead, starting its descent in the direction of the helipad. A few minutes later, the crowd started cheering as the president stepped out of the vehicle.

"Well, here goes," she said to Arcade. Layla noticed as he shifted uncomfortably while the elite rangers escorted Kimball to the platform. Grinning, she thumped him on the back.

"No time for nerves, Dr. Gannon."

*.*.*

Felix was just settling into position on the tower overlooking the president's podium when he heard someone climbing the ladder. Looking up, he saw the 1st Recon kid who worked with the Courier climbing over the ledge.

Shrugging a desert camouflaged painted rifle off his shoulder, the kid nodded his way once before looking through his scope at the gathered crowd.

"I've got this position covered," Felix said, more than a little annoyed at the new arrival.

"Double checking," was all the younger man said. Felix shook his head with a sigh. He wasn't going to have time to hide the sniper's body like he had the ranger's. Straightening back up, he set his gun down. For a brief moment there was a flash of regret; he'd kill the President of the NCR and the Courier's pet sniper in one day. The Legate would have been very pleased with him. But he wasn't coming back from this mission.

This wasn't exactly the most well thought out plan Felix had ever attempted, and it wouldn't take very long for the body to be found. But his window of opportunity was starting to close as Kimball's speech continued, so he turned and dove for the sniper. The kid wasn't taken completely by surprise, much to the frumentarius' displeasure; he braced himself just as Felix slammed into him.

It was starting to become clear why this man had never been killed or captured. His reaction to the attack wasn't to question him like so many of the profligates would. Instead, he managed to regain his footing in time to keep Felix from knocking him off the side of the tower. His hand went for the machete at his side.

Felix didn't give him a chance. He threw a punch, catching the other man on the chin, but it didn't seem to even stagger him. The legionary knew he had to finish this quickly, so he slammed bodily into the sniper again. Landing a particularly savage kick to the man's ankle, he managed to dig in and push him to the edge of the platform.

Another hard shove, and the sniper tumbled over the side. Felix heard clattering on the ground below the tower as he quickly went back to his gun. He didn't have long to make his shot. Lining up his sights, he spotted the Courier in the crowd. He briefly wondered if he'd be able to pick her off after he shot Kimball. It was definitely a shame he'd never get to hear the Legate's -

He heard something at his side and looked up to see the sniper clamber back over the side of the tower. He must have caught the lip of the wall. As Felix turned his rifle around, the man came at him, machete drawn.

*.*.*

Layla had a bad feeling about all of this. Everything was going too smoothly. No gun shots, no knife-wielding crazies, nothing. Crossing her arms over her chest, she fidgeted.

"What?" Arcade asked from her side, looking around at the gathered crowd.

"Not sure," Layla answered. "I'm going to go check the landing pad… Maybe Boone was right about a sniper up there."

"Wouldn't he be able to see them from the tower?" the doctor pointed out.

"Yeah, I know…" she said. "I'm just going to look. Stay here with Rex."

The doctor grumbled something unintelligible as Layla made her way up to the landing platform. The private guarding the area waved her in, and she mounted the ladder up to the helipad. Bear Force One was sitting where it had landed, still looking impressive.

Layla had never seen a vertibird so close before. She still had a hard time not associating them with Enclave, but it had been a long time since they group had been active. Before she'd been born, actually, but she'd heard plenty of horror stories of hellfire armor-wearing terrors pouring out of the flying machines. Walking around it, she saw something near the tail that looked odd, like it wasn't an original part of the airship.

"Holy shit." Layla shook her head as she realized what the device on the back of the vertibird was. A bomb.

"Not again."

_Oh that's just fantastic_, her mind muttered at her as she moved in to look at the device. Wires were everywhere. She was pretty sure there were more wires than needed jammed into the thing. Probably to make defusing it harder. Fortunately, she knew a little more about bombs than the first time she defused one. And she had her tools with her to boot. The explosive was actually not very sophisticated, probably built for reliability rather than precision.

Biting her lip and hoping she wasn't about to make a mess of the helipad and her face, she made two quick snips with her wire cutters. There was a pop, and Layla jumped back, but nothing else happened.

Checking the electronic sensor, it appeared the bomb was defused. Sighing with relief, she started removing the explosive just as she heard someone approaching.

"What is that?" a ranger cried as he ran over to her. Layla tried to remember which one he was, but he was masked, and she couldn't place his voice.

"Looks like someone planted a bomb," she said as she set the device down away from the vertibird. "All set now though. It's deactivated." She sighed. "We'd better radio this in, or at least tell Grant."

"No need."

"Hm?" she turned back to the ranger. "Is he coming up here…?" She found him stalking toward her, drawing his knife from its sheath. Remembering Boone's advice, she pulled her engraved revolver from its holster. Thankfully, it was one of the loudest guns she owned; everyone for a few miles would hear it. Before she got a chance to fire, the man leapt at her, knocking her into the roof's concrete ledge.

She lost her grip on her gun, and it clattered away. Her .45 was tucked into the back of her armor, but getting it was difficult as the man had her pinned.

"Too bad we don't have time to play," he said as he nicked her cheek with his knife. "But I'm in a hurry."

She had reached the .45 and was starting to work it out from under her. Just a few more moments and-

The man's head jerked violently, like someone had punched him. He slumped forward, then flopped off the ledge. Confused, Layla looked down to where he landed. Someone had shot him in the back of the head with a high-caliber rifle.

Taking a wild guess, she looked over to the far tower and saw the glint of a rifle scope. Pulling the binoculars off her hip, she peered through them to find Boone looking back at her. There was blood on his shirt, and he was using the silenced rifle she'd just given him.

Waving once, she looked over the side of the platform. There was bound to be a ranger she could tell about what had happened. This was clearly an attack coming from more than one angle. They needed to get the president out of-

A group of veteran rangers climbed up to the platform, followed by President Kimball.

"Oh good, I wanted to meet you," he called to her. Layla automatically smoothed her hair and walked over.

"I um, hello," she said, wishing she was a little more on her game. She was still trying to decide if she should mention the life-and-death struggle that had taken place a few seconds ago.

"Keep up the good work," the president said. "It's nice to have a civilian helping out. You've done quite well for a woman in your position."

Forgetting the attack, it took everything she had in her to keep from asking what that was suppose to mean. She managed to keep a pleasant smile on her face as she bit the inside of her cheek.

"We'd better get moving, sir," one of the rangers murmured.

"Yes yes, let's go. Good to meet you," Kimball said as he boarded the vertibird. Soon the machine was taking off while Layla glared after it.

"Thanks a lot, President Peaches..."

*.*.*

Arcade breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Bear Force One fly away and the crowd began to disperse. Just as he was about to go and find out where Layla had gotten to, he heard Rex growl.

"What is it?" the doctor asked, turning to see what the dog was fussing about. Rex was watching a man in an engineer's jumpsuit as he made his way toward the visitor center. He caught the man taking a quick look around to make sure he wasn't being followed.

That probably wasn't a good sign. "Come on," he called to the cyberdog as he headed in the engineer's direction. Just as he was reaching the doors to the visitor center, the man seemed to notice he was being tailed. Turning, he gave them a wary look.

"What do you want?" he demanded. Arcade came to a stop a few meters away from him, frowning. Rex growled and bared his teeth.

"My dog doesn't seem to like you."

"Oh yeah?" The man sneered. "Well that's too bad, I've got work to do."

Rex started growling louder when the man turned away. He stopped as Arcade called out to him.

"I think we'd all better have a talk with the MPs first."

The engineer turned back to him, now with a knife in hand.

"By Caesar's will!" the man screeched as he charged at Arcade. The doctor drew his weapon, but in the resulting mass confusion, his shot went wide, and the 'engineer' was quickly tackled by a group of rangers. Once they all untangled from each other, it was very apparent the man had slit his own throat.

"God damn, fucking legionaries!" Grant spewed as he arrived on the scene. "Always taking the fucking easy way out!"

"Oh good, you guys know there was an attack," Layla said as she came back from the helipad. Frowning, she approached the dead man and prodded him with her foot. "What was he up to?"

"Looks like he was trying to escape the scene," Grant said. "Your doctor noticed him."

"Actually, it was Rex," Arcade corrected. "I don't know what he was up to, though."

"He's probably the one who slapped the bomb on Bear Force One," Layla said casually, then looked to Grant. "Might want to have someone take a look at it; I left it up on the landing pad."

Rangers went scurrying in that direction just as Boone rejoined them. Arcade noted the blood all over his shirt and was carrying the pieces of a very broken gun.

"Jeez, what happened to it?" the Courier asked as she moved to inspect the damage.

"Fell off the tower," the sniper answered. "Nearly went down with it."

"Aw, that was the rifle I traded you for a Nuka Victory," Layla said sadly.

The sniper frowned.

"I'm just glad I don't have to put _you _back together from this condition… You probably should have radioed in that you'd been attacked."

"Didn't have time," he answered. "You were getting stabbed."

"Oh yeah." She took a piece of the gun's barrel from his hands and frowned. "This one's beyond my abilities… Maybe Raul and Veronica can do something with it. If not, we'll see if the Gun Runners can do anything."

She grinned at him. "If we're truly screwed, maybe I'll send it to the gun wizard in Utah."

"Gun wizard?" Arcade asked. "I thought you only dealt with tribals and missionaries in Utah."

"One of the missionaries was a little more…" She looked at Boone. "What's the word I'm looking for?"

"Deadly," came the automatic reply.

"That's the one," she turned a grin back at Arcade. "You'd probably like him; he's a interesting guy to talk to."

Arcade was about question them further when Colonel Moore approached. Her expression was hard to explain. Somewhere between annoyed and relieved.

"Well, the president's safe, but the event at McCarren's been cancelled," the woman said, mainly to Layla. She shook her head. "This whole thing was ill-advised."

"Well, there's finally something we can agree on," Layla said. "What now?"

"It won't be long before the Legion makes its move for the dam. General Oliver is going to want to meet with you soon," she answered. "It won't be for a few days yet. But when the time comes, you and your team can stay at the Dam until the operation is over."

The Courier nodded. "You know how to reach me."

"Try not to go missing for a week this time," Moore grumbled.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! I have to say, while this is a good mission on the NCR side of the tracks, 'Arizona Killer' (the Legion side of this quest) is one of the best quests in the whole game. It's so much more fun.<p>

Skyrim has been just as delightful as I imagined (they made Alchemy even more fun!). It didn't grab me as hard as New Vegas, but it's definitely an awesome game. Well anyway, see you on Saturday!


	3. My Country 'Tis of Thee

Layla's thread was a mess. Some point during the night she'd decided to skip sleep and sort her sewing supplies. Sleep meant nightmares. Nightmares meant she'd end up keeping either Boone or Veronica awake. Every time she had a bad dream, one of those two would end up staying up with her half the night.

But they needed rest more than she did. Layla could last three days with minimal rest before things got weird. Five if she kept moving.

The orange thread she'd found in a Poseidon gas station was currently in a gigantic knot. She bit out a curse at the sight of it. When she'd found it, she hadn't had the chance to properly store it; there had been a pack of vipers shooting at her.

Now she reaped the benefits of her carelessness: the knot was refusing to come undone. It was just as well. She didn't trust herself to do any actual work this late. Working with her hands did prove soothing, at any rate. She was going to be very happy when the Mojave finally got sorted out and things could go back to normal. Although she wasn't really sure what 'normal' would be now.

There was a knock at the door, interrupting her thoughts.

"Come in," she called, wondering who it was. To her surprise, Arcade walked in. He looked at the mess of string that was strewn across her desk and lap.

"Are you busy?" the doctor asked.

"Not really," she said. "What's on your mind?"

"Well…" He sat on her couch. "Everything's about to come to a head, right?"

"That's what everyone keeps saying," she answered, "I'll be real happy when it's done."

"Well, listen, there's a way I think I can help," the doctor said hesitantly, then stood and started pacing. Layla set down her ball of orange thread and looked at him. Something was bothering him, that was for sure.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Arcade laughed and shook his head.

"No. Have you ever tried to make a decision and most of you is screaming that it's a bad idea but that one nagging part of your mind tells you you'd better do it or you'll regret it?"

"Nah," the Courier replied. "I usually think all my plans are a great idea, but my brain can be a real wet blanket."

That stopped the doctor's pacing. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, then seemed to come to a decision and walked closer to her desk.

"What I'm about to tell you is… a secret, and sensitive, and you can't tell anyone. Even Veronica. Even Boone."

"We don't usually sit in the corner giggling about secrets," the Courier said flatly. "Go on, you know you can trust me."

That seemed to calm him a little, and he pushed his glasses back up his face. "I can get us some extra help for the dam."

"Oh? I was planning to talk to the Followers anyway. With any luck, Julie will agree about helping out with NCR casualties…" She stopped at the impatient face that came over the doctor.

"No, that's not what I mean…" He sighed. "The help I can get you is from a… slightly more controversial group."

Layla gave him a perplexed look and did a quick catalog of available groups in the area. She'd personally dealt with just about ever faction in Mojave. Coming up blank, she looked back up at him.

"More controversial than the Brotherhood?"

"Yeah," the doctor said, sounding nervous again.

"Well you've got me stumped," she said. "Go on."

Arcade was back to pacing again. He didn't speak at first, and Layla could tell he was wondering if this was a bad idea. He squared his shoulders and faced her.

"My family was part of the Enclave. My father was an officer. He died a few years after Navarro was attacked. Once that happened, his unit tried to integrate into the NCR with my mother and I… There were varied results. When my mother died, the unit took care of me. Eventually we ended up out here."

He looked at her, clearly trying to gauge her reaction. Layla was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Y…You're Enclave? Your father fought the Chosen One?"

She hadn't meant to say that, but it had spilled out of her mouth. Arcade was standing very rigidly, and Layla was pretty sure he was about to run for it.

"It's okay!" she said suddenly. "I'm not… It's okay. You just… I wasn't expecting _that_."

The doctor seemed to relax somewhat. "I know. I don't tell people about it, obviously." He seemed to give her a few minutes to digest everything before he continued. "The old unit, they can help at the dam."

"Well, no offense, Arcade," Layla said, biting her lip. "They're probably pretty old, right?"

"They are." He finally cracked a grin, "But they still have their own equipment and a vertibird. They keep it all in a bunker, just waiting to get used again."

"_They do_?" Layla had been told several times during her youth that the Enclave had hidden bases all over the place, just waiting to strike again. She used to have nightmares about Enclave soldiers coming for her in the night. Once she'd gotten into her teens, she'd thought her mother had just made it all up to get her to do her chores. And her brothers were saying it to freak her out.

"I'm starting to think this wasn't a good idea," said Arcade, apprehension apparent in his voice.

"Arcade, you need to give me a few minutes to digest all of this," Layla replied. "You just waltzed in here and told me there are Enclave soldiers just waiting for a chance to strike. That terrifies me on several base levels."

The doctor pulled off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. Layla sat, still stunned. When he looked back at her, she held up a hand.

"Just... Just give me a minute." She sat, dazed. A thought suddenly occurred to her.

"Wait… is Daisy one of them? Daisy Whitman in Novac?"

"Yeah." Now Arcade sounded shocked. "How did you know?"

"She told me she was Enclave the first time we met." She shook her head, remembering her first time in Novac. She'd been after Carla's betrayer that day. "That was a weird day. I guess I just kinda forgot about it."

The doctor ran his hands through his hair, looking exasperated. "Did anyone else say anything like that?"

"Um," Layla thought a moment. "Oh, Doc Henry in Jacobstown. He told me he'd deserted before Navarro blew… so I'd kinda figured he was all right." She said the last part apologetically.

"Well that's fantastic," Arcade said. "There are Rangers still after us, and they're telling every random yahoo that shows up who they are." He noted the raised eyebrow Layla had turned on him. "No offense."

"Yeah, well…" Layla shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order. "You're telling me these remnants are willing to help the NCR?"

"More like they're willing to stop the Legion," Arcade explained. "I think."

"You think? This isn't going to end with another explosive collar around my neck, is it?"

"No no no… I don't know, probably not."

Layla shook her head. "So… what exactly are we going to do?"

"We'll go talk to Judah Kreger… He was the captain. If we want an accurate assessment of how willing everyone will be to do this, it'll come from him."

Layla looked at him curiously for a moment.

"Why did you come to me with this?"

"I want to do everything I can to make sure the Legion doesn't spread," Arcade answered automatically. "Lanius isn't going to have the 'gentle' touch Caesar did. It'll be even worse than we originally thought… And I need someone to back me up. The Remnants will always think of me as a kid. The leader of New Vegas ought to do it."

Layla sat back in her chair, letting all the new information settle in. After the shock finally dissipated, she came to a conclusion. If they were willing to help, what the hell? She'd already found allies with the Brotherhood and a former Legion Legate. Why not a bunch of Enclave soldiers to complete her set?

"All right, we'll head out in the morning." She shook her head. "We are _not_ telling Boone about this."

"That would be wise," the doctor answered flatly.

*.*.*

"Okay…" Arcade said as he and Layla made their way through Westside the next day, "just let me do the talking. This is going to be okay."

The Courier shook her head. "Arcade, this is the most jittery I've ever seen you. Including that time you drank a whole pot of coffee on horror movie night."

"You… It's hard to understand. These people are my family, and I'm bringing up our deepest darkest secret to someone they don't know. I'm not sure how they'll react."

"It'll be fine," Layla soothed, trying not to think about what might happen if it _wasn't_ fine. "Haven't you ever brought home a girl your parents didn't approve of before?"

"Oh ha ha ha."

They turned a corner, and Arcade stiffened as he caught sight of a very old man wearing a ball cap.

"There he is."

Layla reached over and squeezed his hand. "Deep breath, Doctor."

He grimaced at the pun, then walked with squared shoulders in the man's direction.

"Ah, hello Arcade." The man smiled, then looked at Layla. "Making some new friends?"

"Um, hello, sir. Uh, yeah." The doctor scratched the back of his neck.

"You're the drug mule," Kreger said neutrally as he focused on Layla again. She noticed Arcade's eyebrows shoot up as he turned to look at her.

"No, that was a misunderstanding…" she said rapidly, only barely managing to stop herself from mentioning she'd been undercover for the NCR. "I- it wasn't. You're… How did you know what I was carrying? It was in a box."

"Those drug shipments had been going through the pawn shop for months," said the old man. "And you and your friend were hard not to notice." He looked Arcade's way again. "Is there something you're here about?"

"I, well…" Now Arcade was stumbling. "I- we thought that you could help. You and the unit? With the war... At the dam?"

The old man frowned at that, then looked at Layla again. "I suppose, since you haven't come with a pack of your rangers friends, that you're not aware of my background."

Layla felt herself turning red. "I … I do know your background." She shook her head to clear it. "Arcade came to me about you and your unit. He thought you might be willing to help keep the Legion from taking the Dam."

"Well, that is a noble cause." He looked at Arcade. "One that Orion is not going to like."

"Yeah, I figured you might be able to help with that…" the doctor said sheepishly.

"I can only do so much," Kreger smiled slightly. "I'm in, but that won't mean much if you can't get the others."

"We have to try," came Arcade's earnest response. The older man nodded gravely.

"I'll stop by the bunker and see how you've done in a few days," Kreger said, then looked Layla's way. "Arcade knows where the bunker is, but you'll need my part of the password. It's 'Navarro.'"

"Got it," she answered. "Thank you." She bit her lip, but felt the question bubble up anyway.

"What was it like? Being in the Enclave?"

"It was good to have a purpose," Kreger answered, sounding thoughtful. "But I admit the people in charge were pretty ruthless. It's hard to explain sometimes."

Layla nodded, recalling when she'd been in a similar situation with House. They said their goodbyes and turned to go. Walking away, Arcade pushed his glasses back up his nose.

"He was the glue that held us together all these years," he said as Layla looked up at him. "Kreger, that is. If anyone can get Orion and Johnson to keep from killing each other, it speaks highly of their abilities."

"You seem to care for him quite a bit…" she observed. "And you're terrified of him." The doctor laughed at that.

"I think he tried to step in as a father-figure for me. Probably felt like he owed it to my father. He's a kind man, but I wouldn't say warm."

Layla nodded. "Well, let's head up to Jacobstown. I don't think Doc Henry will be too hard a sell, as long as we can get him away from his research."

*.*.*

Cass was bored. And a little horny. She'd headed out of the Strip to find something to do; it got awfully dull when Layla went off solving other people's problems.

Everyone at the 38 fell into a pattern when the Courier left: Lily was almost always the first to leave, but then she usually only came to the casino to visit anyway. Raul and Cass would wander off soon after, Raul to his shack and Cass to fend off boredom. Veronica and Arcade usually stuck around unless they had Brotherhood or Follower business to attend to. On the rare occasion Boone was left behind, he'd sulk around like a lost puppy until the food ran out, then go back to Novac.

For now, Cass had been snooping around for backers to restart her caravan business. She was walking back from the Grub n' Gulp, having been turned down by Fitz and Lupe. It was hard to blame them; people were usually wary about forking money over to someone whose entire caravan had been burnt to a crisp already.

As much as it irked her, it was becoming pretty obvious she was going to have to go to her fall back plan: Layla. The Courier had already offered to front the cash Cass needed. Well, actually, she'd offered to flat out give her the money, without expecting it back. Cass had angrily told the younger woman she wasn't a charity case, to which the Courier had modified her offer to 'investing.'

On principle, it shouldn't really bother Cass to ask for help; Layla wasn't the kind of girl to hold something over a person's head. The caravaneer also supposed she'd shot enough Legionaries off the girl's ass to have earned a little payout.

Cass sighed, taking a long pull off the whiskey she'd opened on the way out of the pit stop. She'd figure it all out later, after the dam was settled. Between the waiting and the heat, the Mojave and all the people in it were getting antsy. It was getting damn annoying too.

There was a rustling noise behind her, and Cass nearly ignored it. Tumbleweed wasn't uncommon on this stark stretch of land between Grub n' Gulp and the Aerotech park. Just as she was about to take another drink, she heard what could only be a magazine getting fed into a gun.

Turning, Cass found four legionaries further down the road. They were all heavily armored, armed to the teeth and coming her way.

"You have been marked for death by the Lega-!" one cried just before Cass shot his face off with her brush gun. Diving behind a nearby boulder, she tried to think. There were three left, and probably none of them were as drunk as she was.

"Get your act together, fucker, I'm not Layla!" she yelled past the boulder. "Go bother her."

"All of the Courier's allies are marked," came the reply, along with a volley of shots.

"Oh that's just fucking fantastic," Cass grumbled, about to pop out from her cover to shoot. Before she could, one of the Legionaries leapt over the boulder, his super sledge aimed for her head.

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you to my reviewers and favoriters and alerters and such. See you on Wednesday (Holy crap, it's almost Thanksgiving!)<p> 


	4. Battle Cry of Freedom

"Don't you have an IV stand for this?" Arcade sighed as he held up a bag of radioactive dye while its contents slowly drained into a dead nightstalker.

"I do," Doc Henry said, sounding a bit annoyed. "But the higher it is, the better the flow. Now hush and let me think."

Grumbling, he continued holding up the bag. As if it wasn't bad enough being treated like an inanimate object, his arm was starting to get tired. Nearby, Layla was going over a set of data printed from one of the diagnostic tools. Calamity had shown her what readings she needed to look for; the Courier didn't have much background knowledge in neuroscience.

"Um," Layla said as she looked at another read-out, "I think this one's got it."

"Double check," Calamity rasped out, her tone sounding somewhere between annoyed and amused. The Courier had already had a few miscalls, so now she had to check with the IV stand. She got up and moved over to Arcade.

"This one," she said, pointing to one of the images of a nightstalker brain. "The one with the… blob on the right lobe."

Arcade squinted at the image, then nodded. "Yeah, that's a tumor."

Layla smiled, then handed the readout to Calamity. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

"That's good," the ghoul said, shaking her head.

Sighing again, Arcade watched the fluid bag in his hand slowly drain. He had to agree with Layla's assessment of Doc Henry's willingness to work with the other Remnants. He'd be willing, but only if they could get him away from his research. That had seemed like it wouldn't be too hard until they found he'd been conducting sensitive experiments. Apparently the treatments he'd been administering on the nightkin of Jacobstown were possibly causing tumors, something the doctor was adamant about determining.

That all lead to the same conclusion: he would be too busy to go to the bunker or fight in the coming battle. Layla had suggested they feel him out some more while she thought of a plan. For now, they'd help with the experiments, trying to find if the tumors found on a few of the test nightstalkers were due to the treatments.

"How has Lily been?" Layla asked as she set down the last of the MRI readouts. "She's seemed very alert lately."

"There have been some… complications," the doctor said with a grim face as he looked up from his display.

"What?" Layla sounded startled to hear that. "What is it?"

"Lily's treatment is starting to show results. She's coming along nicely and having hardly any instances with 'Leo.' The problem is she has been having trouble keeping her mind in the present."

"She still thinks she's in the vault?" the Courier asked.

"No, she's had episodes of believing she was still in the 'Master's' army."

"Oh." Layla's eye went wide. "Oh, that can't be good. Has she done anything?"

"Nothing violent; I believe she still understands who her friends and enemies are. But her thought processes are definitely aligning with her time as an assassin."

Layla looked uneasy. "We had hoped she'd be able to help us at the dam…"

"I don't think she's a danger to anyone she categorizes as an ally," Doc Henry said.

She nodded, then looked up at Arcade, raising her eyebrows. He figured that was his signal.

"About the dam…" he started, and Henry looked up.

"What about it?"

"I've spoke with Judah, and the Remnants might be making an appearance. We were hoping you'd meet with everyone at the bunker."

The doctor looked thoughtful at that. "I'm intrigued… but I'm not certain if now is a good time to head off. This treatment phase is a little tricky."

"I can handle it," Calamity said, sounding torn between amusement and annoyance again. "We won't have any results on the tumors for a few days. And we're not moving on to that phase of treatment for another two or three weeks anyway."

"I'm not sure-" Henry started, but the ghoul cut him off.

"Go on, blow up some jackass Legionaries. It'll be good for you."

The doctor chuckled. "All right, I'll go." He turned to Arcade and Layla. "You'll need my part of the password: 'Friends.'"

"Thank you" said Arcade, a little surprised it had been that easy.

Henry waved away his thanks, then started for his equipment. "Get on out of here then. I've got to get things in order before I go."

Soon he and Layla were on their way out of town. Arcade sighed as he thought of the old doctor, the one who had started him down the path of science. He caught Layla giving him a questioning look.

"Henry was always hard to figure out," he explained. "He didn't care if it was dog or human he worked on, he had an equal affection for them."

"He seems to care for his work quite a bit," Layla said, nodding.

"He solves riddles just because they exist. The practical application isn't as important as the answer." Arcade sighed. "Not everyone dreams of being a revolutionary. I guess he works by doing good while he's here. No one's going to sing Doc Henry's praises when he's gone."

"I don't know about that," Layla said conversationally as they started down the mountain. "I think the super mutants are pretty happy with him. I don't think they're going to make any statues, but he's touched everyone here."

Arcade nodded absently as the two continued along the road.

*.*.*

"You don't mind if we stop in Primm real quick, do you?" the Courier asked later in the day.

"No," came Arcade's response. "What's in Primm?"

"What's in Primm? Why, it's home of the Vicky & Vance Casino, Yeeee-haw!" Layla giggled. "And I need to stop by the Mojave Express."

"Looking for work?"

"Ha. If only my life was as simple as delivering mail again," she answered, looking wistful.

"Ah yes, the 'good ol' days' when you got shot in the head?"

"I still get shot plenty, and now a lot more people than Benny are doing the shooting."

"I suppose that's true," Arcade agreed. "What are you going for, then?"

"I've got some mail to send out," she said. "I'm their best client now that I'm all successful-like."

Arcade could only shake his head. As they continued on, he let his mind wander again. Their efforts to gather the Remnants together had been going very well. Much better than he'd thought, anyway. Of course, they hadn't talked to Orion yet.

"What the hell?" Layla cried suddenly, causing Arcade to stumble. Looking around, he didn't find anyone trying to shoot or maim them. Turning back to the Courier, he found her digging binoculars out of her bag.

She put them to her eyes and whistled. Following her line of sight, he saw what appeared to be construction going on near Quarry Junction. New buildings were going up, stone fences were being built and roofs were getting shingled. Arcade could see fresh foundations getting poured and masons erecting brick walls. That kind of quality in new construction you only saw in Shady Sands or the Hub.

"What are they doing to Sloan?" Layla gaped.

"I haven't the foggiest," the doctor said, shrugging. Layla put the binoculars away as a thoughtful look came over her face.

"Well, I bet Mr. Nash would know."

"Mr. Nash?"

"He's my boss. Well, my courier boss." She smirked. "The people of New Vegas are my other bosses right now."

*.*.*

Layla smiled as she strode into the Mojave Express building. This place had been her first headquarters when she'd come to the Mojave.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't 'The Courier.' I thought you were too high and mighty to come before us little people," she heard before she'd even gotten through the door. A surly-looking man sat at the counter, giving her a dirty look.

"Shut up, Wade," came from the woman in the doorway to the inner section of the building. Wade glared at both of them, but made no further comment.

"Hello, Suze," Layla said, paying Wade no mind. He was always a grouch. Instead, she grinned at the first friend she'd made as a courier, "How're the roads?"

"A whole fuckton better since someone booted the Legion off this side of the river." The other woman smiled. "And since you got your boyfriend to shoot all the deathclaws off the Long 15."

"He's not my boyfriend," Layla said immediately, feeling her neck start to turn red. "We're just friends."

"Suuuuuure," Suzanne said, then eyeballed Arcade as a sly grin spread over her face. "And who's this tall drink of water?"

"He's a friend," Layla staid before the doctor could answer. "A happily-married friend."

"Oh well," Suzanne said with a shrug. "Can't bang them all."

Now Layla was shaking her head. "That's not very… Oh! Speaking of the Long 15, what the heck is going on at Sloan?"

"New construction," the other woman answered. "Don't know much-"

"Is that Layla?" came from the other room.

"Hello, Mr. Nash!" Layla called. A moment later the wizened man stepped out to the main room.

"Hello," he said. "What's my least productive courier up to?"

"Never mind me! What are they doing to Sloan?" she asked.

"Some brahmin baron from California's decided to spend his midlife crisis out here," Nash answered, sounding wholly disgusted. "Wants to 'relive the Old West.' So he bought the quarry off the NCR and is putting up a town."

"Of all the crazy things…" Layla mused, looking Arcade's way. He shrugged, and Layla returned the gesture.

"Well, anyway…" She dug a letter from her pack. "I've got a lucrative job for an able body."

"Utah again?" Nash said as he pulled out the thick ledger he used to keep track of his business.

"Mmm hmm," she answered, placing the envelope on the counter.

"Emergency again?"

"Nah, time it with a Happy Trails caravan. Just regular old correspondence."

"Missionaries?" Arcade asked.

"Yup, mainly the deadly one," she said with a wink, then dug out a bag of caps as she turned back to Nash. "I'd also like whoever goes to pick up a couple boxes of .45 ammo. And they get a big bonus if they bring me back some tequila too."

"You're the one with the caps," Nash answered. A few moments later, the paperwork was done.

"Tell whoever goes to be careful," Layla said, then smiled. "How are things?"

"Busy. Wars make for plenty of panicked soldier-family correspondence. And some of my employees have been commissioning expensive trips to other states."

"Just trying to keep the economy up," Layla grinned. "Is there any-"

"Nash!" a man shouted as he rushed into the building. "I've got an emergency message!"

"Good gravy, Tobias! Calm down," Nash admonished as the man stumbled into the room. "What is it?"

"I've got a delivery, from a robot."

"Robot?" Layla perked up. "What kind?"

"One of those ones from the Strip," Tobias gasped out.

"What's the message?" she asked, now concerned. Tobias gave her a mildly suspicious look.

"It's supposed to be for the recipient only," the man said cautiously.

"Is it for Layla Granville?" Arcade asked, sounded just as worried as Layla was.

"Yeah," Tobias looked Layla's way. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, give it here."

The man looked at Nash, unsure.

"Well, deliver the message," the old man answered impatiently. "Go on before we all die of old age."

Tobias handed over a folded piece of paper, and Layla opened it. She read it as Arcade looked over her shoulder.

"Layla

Cass got hurt in a Legion ambush. She's recovering at the Old Mormon Fort.

-Veronica"

*.*.*

Julie Farkas sighed as she walked out of a tent. She'd done all she could for the patients under the Followers' care at the moment. As if the normal ills of this place weren't enough, war added another layer to the misery.

The Follower hadn't been witness to the Legion's cruelty directly, not until the group of slaves that had been freed from Fortification Hill had come her way. Now she'd seen plenty of Legion casualties, more than she cared to.

It would only get worse before it got better. As she noted the grim faces around her, she took a deep breath. It was up to her to keep a calm demeanor, even when faced with such a dark reality.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, there was a small commotion at the fort's entrance as the Courier burst in. The girl caught Julie's eye and made her way over, Arcade in tow.

"Where is she? Is she okay?"

Julie pointed to one of the tents, and Layla ran for it before the other woman could answer her questions. Arcade hung back with Julie.

"How bad is it?" he asked, sounding apprehensive.

"She's got a broken leg and three bullet wounds," she answered.

"Where were the wounds?"

"Upper body for two, one in the leg. Honestly, between the broken bone and that bullet wound, I don't know how she managed to walk back here."

"She _walked _here?" Arcade gaped, then shook his head. "How's she doing?"

"She's not exactly the best patient," Julie answered. Arcade snorted at that, and she continued. "But she'll recover quickly. The bone's already mending."

They both made for the tent, and Julie smirked when she found Cass still surrounded by Veronica and Raul. Layla was sitting at her side, looking stricken.

"I'm so sorry, Cass. This is all my fault." The Courier looked like she was about to start crying as she gazed at the older woman's pained face.

"Oh quit bawling!" Cass cried. "I'm more hung over than anything." She pointed accusingly at Julie. "If you hippies would just give me back my hooch-"

"Alcohol will thin your blood and hamper the stimpak's ability to mend your bones," Julie sighed. She'd already fielded this complaint several times today.

"So what happened?" Layla asked, starting to calm down.

"Fuckers got the drop on me, but they're shit for shots," the caravaneer said. "I'd have thought _they _were drunk, except Caesar can't have his boys getting the vapors over booze."

"But what did you do?" Veronica asked, arms over her chest. "How did you take them all?"

"I fucking shot them." She grinned slightly. "Got a couple where it really hurts."

"How long until she's healed?" Layla asked Julie.

"Two days, tops."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Cass growled. "How long do I have to stay here?"

"Two days."

"Without whiskey."

"Yes," Julie sighed.

"Fuck," Cass bit out, then turned a poisonous glare at Layla. "This is all your fault."

The devastated face the younger girl made at that immediately had Cass sighing explosively.

"Oh I didn't mean it. Fluff my pillows and sneak me something stiff and I forgive you."

"What kind of stiff?" Veronica asked mischievously.

"Either at this point." Cass noted Julie's frown. "Oh don't get your panties in a bunch. School girl here wouldn't sneak me booze if she was told not too. And the only men she finds she immediately calls dibs on, then refuses to fuck."

Layla turned bright red.

* * *

><p>This update was brought to you by a pause in pie production. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I'll see you on Saturday! Happy Thanksgiving!<p> 


	5. This Land is Your Land

"All right," Layla said, looking Arcade's way. "Are you ready?"

The two of them stood outside Orion Moreno's house. Cass had kicked Layla out of her tent that morning due to 'over-fussing.' Before she left, she'd made Veronica pinky-swear that she wouldn't sneak the older woman any liquor, or let Raul. Once Cass had been made aware of that, she'd told the Courier she wasn't welcome in her medical tent anymore.

"No," Arcade answered, sounding nervous. Layla nodded.

"Good enough." She knocked on the old, weathered door. A moment later it swung open to a man pointing a caravan shotgun in Layla's face.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"Orion, wait!" Arcade cried, waving his hands. The old man lowered his gun when he saw the doctor.

"Arcade, hello." The greeting wasn't overly cheerful, but sounded sincere anyway. He turned a suspicious look at Layla. "Who's this?"

"A friend of mine," Arcade said quickly before Layla could answer. "We have something important to talk to you about."

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Orion glanced suspiciously at Layla again.

"Maybe we should go inside," the doctor said.

Orion gave them both a long look before stepping back and letting them in. A few moments later, they were seated in the man's worn but neat living room. Moreno looked at Arcade expectantly.

"The Remnants are gathering at the bunker," the doctor began. "Well, I've asked them to."

"Oh yeah? What's the matter, can't find any younger mercenaries?" Orion looked Layla's way. "Wear something a little tighter and they'll be lining up."

The Courier felt her cheeks start to burn.

"You know we're not going to find better trained professionals," Arcade interjected. The old man's suspicious look resurfaced.

"That's true… but who exactly are we fighting?"

"The Legion wants Hoover dam," Layla said firmly, "and they're making a move for it soon."

Orion gave her an evaluating look, then nodded.

"All right, I'll go," he said. "Any chance to bust some NCR skulls." Layla had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from giving herself away. The plan with Orion, whom Arcade had reminded her was very anti-NCR, was to slightly mislead him as to what they were asking him to do. The old man looked back at her. "I don't know if Arcade mentioned the code to get into the bunker, my word is 'remember.'"

"Thank you," Layla answered. She and Arcade soon made a hasty retreat.

"That went well," she said once they were safely away from Orion's place.

"Yeah, fantastic," Arcade muttered. "I don't know if it will be so smooth once he finds who we're actually fighting for."

"That's why we'll let him know when he's surrounded by his comrades in arms," Layla said matter-of-factly. "You're the one who kept saying Kreger can keep him in line."

Arcade sighed. "Let's hope so. If not, it won't end well." He rubbed his forehead. "I can remember, as we were leaving Navarro, he looked at us and said 'Kiss America goodbye, boys.' He never forgave the NCR for taking the base. He also never questioned his orders while in the Enclave."

"Sometimes people have to let things go and start over," Layla murmured.

"He's been out of the Enclave longer than he's been in," Arcade said dourly. "But he can't let go."

Layla frowned. "Come on, let's keep going."

*.*.*

"Now… why is it people call you 'Cannibal' Johnson?" Layla asked, sounding apprehensive.

"Well," the weathered old man explained, "it's a funny story…"

"I hope we have the same sense of humor," The Courier responded, and Johnson laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to throw you in the cooking pot. The truth is I did cut out a raider's heart, but I only took a bite out of it to scare the rest of them."

"Oh," Layla responded, still not sounding thrilled.

"I was surrounded, so I did the first thing that came to mind," Johnson continued. "The ones that didn't run were stunned long enough for me to even the odds."

"Ah." She sounded a little more at ease. "That's was some good thinking."

"I'd like to think so," Johnson replied, then frowned. "Wish I could say my mind is as sharp now…"

"Well, Arcade and I were hoping you'd be able to help us," she said, nodding to the doctor.

"The Remnants are getting together to hold back the Legion. We're hoping you'll help."

Johnson looked thoughtful. "Do some good before we dead and buried, huh? Count me in."

"Great," Layla said with a smile. "Do you have a passcode too?"

"I sure do, mine's 'old.' I suppose it's fitting, huh?"

"Nothing wrong with experience," Layla said, making Johnson laugh again.

"Arcade, you can stop by anytime you like, so long as you keep bringing pretty young things that like to flatter an old man."

"Good to see you too," Arcade said flatly.

He and Layla were soon making their way out of the old man's cave, mindful of the traps he'd set to ward off intruders.

"Well, he seems nice," the Courier said.

"He never fit in the Enclave," Arcade responded. "It's amazing he never got court-martialed after all the times he diverted orders and questioned command."

"He did seem like an upstanding guy," Layla said, grinning.

"He always had good things to say about my father. He used to tell me I was a lot like him. I wish I knew…"

She looked back at her friend, finding him frowning.

"I'm sure your father would have been proud of you."

"I wonder… I know it's pointless… but I wonder what he would have wanted for me. Maybe he wouldn't have been happy with his little boy being a doctor in the middle of Nevada."

"Most parents just want their kids to be happy," Layla said. "If a man like Johnson says your father was a good man, I'm sure he'd be happy to know you're doing good for people." She gave him a mischievous grin. "Besides, what's not to be happy about? You even have three loving wives."

"You're really bad at making people forget your trespasses."

*.*.*

"Arcade, let me try your plasma pistol…"

They weren't far from Cannibal Johnson's cave, back on the highway and heading for Novac to speak with Daisy and stay the night. Arcade stopped, turning the girl's way.

"It's not a 'plasma pistol,' it's a plasma defender," he corrected. That only seemed to make her more interested in the gun on his hip.

"How's it different?"

"It's far more accurate than a plasma pistol and has a higher rate of fire." The girl was still eyeing it with that same weird, excited look she got whenever she encountered new tech.

"K… Can I try it now?"

The doctor sighed. "Fine, just don't break it."

"Why do you people always assume I'm going to break everything?" She sounded offended.

"I heard about the displacer glove."

"I almost broke my hand, not the glove."

Arcade reluctantly handed over the gun. Layla beamed as she searched for a target. Her eyes eventually landed on an old mile marker on the side of the road. She stood next to her companion and took careful aim. Her first shot went wide. The second caught the corner of the faded metal, burning into it. The third turned the sign into a pile of green goo.

"Yes!" The Courier giggled. "Did you see that?"

"Very impressive," Arcade said. "You murdered a sign."

"I had to teach the other signs a lesson, that way they- mmph!"

Looking over, the doctor gaped as he saw Layla hovering a few inches from the ground. Her mouth looked like it was pressed against glass. Arcade detected a faint shimmering in the air as the plasma defender was ripped from her hand and realized the Courier was struggling with an invisible attacker.

He pulled the ripper from inside his coat. Just as he stepped toward the girl and her stealthed assailant, he felt a fist collide with his head. Staggering, he looked to his side and was able to make out the outline of another Stealth Boy user.

_Not good. _He waved his ripper in the general direction of his attacker. Luck was with him; the weapon caught resistance and there was an angry cry. Blood dripped onto the ground as Arcade swung wildly again.

Judging by the grunts and eventual gurgling noise, he was stabbing the hell out of someone. There was a thump, and a man materialized on the ground, his abdomen ripped apart. His armor and weapons suggested this was an organized mercenary band. He looked back to Layla to see her still struggling as her arm was pulled away from her body. Then she disappeared.

_Extremely not good. _Whoever had a hold of her must have put a Stealth Boy on her as well. These mercs were clearly as intelligent as they were well-trained; he couldn't stab at her attacker for fear of hitting the Courier as well.

Stealth Boys could last up to an hour. If they slipped away while he couldn't see them, Layla would end up on the next boat to the Legate's camp. Apparently these mercs hadn't gotten the memo that the Legion wanted Layla dead now. Or else the Legion hadn't changed their offer to the 'profligates.' For now, he decided, it was a good thing.

A burst of plasma suddenly streaked his way, and he flopped to the ground to avoid it. The shot hadn't come from the spot where he could still see the shimmer of Layla and her attacker struggling. He desperately flung his ripper in the direction the blast had come from. There was a thud, and a woman in combat armor appeared and collapsed, holding the spot where the blade had torn into her throat.

Arcade spotted his gun, and grabbed it from where the now dead woman had dropped it, then turned back to where Layla and her attacker had been. There was no sign of them now.

"Layla?" He frantically scanned the area, but the ripple in the air was gone. If he'd lost her… He then heard what he thought was a pained grunt from his left.

"ARCADE!" Layla's voice cried. "Over here! He's- !" There was a loud thwack and a cry, and the Courier didn't speak again.

Her attacker was moving away quickly now, probably carrying the girl over his shoulder. Fortunately, the effects of the stealth field were distorted too much by the sudden movements, and the doctor could make them out easily.

Giving chase, Arcade brought his plasma defender to bear and aimed low, thankful for the gun's improved accuracy. The first shot hit the ground, but the second splashed against a spot in the air. Arcade hoped it wasn't Layla. The pair hit the ground, and the doctor was fairly certain he'd shot out a leg. He reached the shimmering pile and found blood on the ground.

"Layla?"

The Courier suddenly became visible, Stealth Boy in her hand. There was a ripple of movement to her left, and Arcade took aim and fired. After a startled cry, the man became visible, another well-outfitted merc, now with a hole in his head.

"Augh." The girl looked away from the crater that had once been a man's face and took a wobbly step back. Arcade moved to her side, checking her face for bruises.

"Where'd he get you?"

"Back of the head," she said, wincing. She perked up a moment later. "Damn, what a good plan! Like out of a spy movie."

"I'm glad you approve," Arcade said tartly as he examined her head. There was a bruise, but no blood. "They nearly got you."

"Good thing I had my battle doctor." Layla grinned. "Thank you, by the way."

"Don't mention it. Actually, mention it a lot. That was very impressive of me."


	6. When Johnny Comes Marching Home

"So he knocks me over the head. Next thing I know, I kinda shimmied away from him and Arcade and shot him in the face," Layla said to Boone, finishing her recap of the attack as they stood in the mouth of Dinky the T-rex.

The sniper gave Arcade a mildly impressed look, then turned his gaze back to Layla. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, and Arcade noticed the slight tinge of pink that graced her cheeks. "I can pick 'em. Even my doctor can gut a man blindfolded."

"That must have been an expensive plan," Boone said thoughtfully. "Four Stealth Boys and heavy armor. People are getting serious."

"We figured the Legion must not have told everyone they wanted us dead," Layla said thoughtfully. "Probably don't care how many profligates get killed in the process. And I'm sure they still wouldn't mind getting us alive."

"Two million is still a lot of caps," Arcade pointed out, which made both Layla and Boone frown. "Hopefully things will settle down after the battle."

"What's this? Optimism out of you?" Layla said, amused. "Now that you're Action Doctor, you're all sunshine and flowers?"

"Well if our cheerleader's gloom and doom, someone's got to pick up the slack."

Layla grinned at him, then yawned. "Well, I'm going to bed soon. You know how kidnapping attempts make me sleepy."

"We heading out tomorrow?" Boone asked as the Courier gathered her things.

"Well… Arcade and I have a couple things to do," Layla answered. "We'll pick you up on the way back."

Arcade suddenly felt nervous, hoping the sniper wouldn't insist on going with. He was overprotective of the Courier on a good day, and today she'd nearly been kidnapped by invisible mercenaries.

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air until Layla spoke again. "It's kind of sensitive, but we're not in any trouble." She bit her lip, clearly not happy about being unable to come clean to him. Boone sighed.

"It's all right if you can't tell me," he said. "You sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah," Layla said, looking relieved. "Come by my room when you get off duty in the morning. I'll make you breakfast."

"Okay." There was a touch of a smile on his face now.

Arcade used to think Boone saw the world in only two shades: targets and non-hostiles. When he got to know the man better, he found there were actually four: targets, non-hostiles, friends, and Layla. There was a deeper shade of friends: the ones who could be trusted to keep Layla safe. The doctor was pretty sure he'd just been moved up in Boone's line.

"So you're letting him in on the secret?" the sniper said, looking at him but speaking to Layla.

"Yeah," she answered, now looking Arcade's way as well. "Don't have much choice. I think I can trust him though."

"Come again?" Arcade did not like the sound of that.

"You get to stay in my secret hiddely-hole. Novac's where I have my secret stash. Only a few people know about it." She smiled. "I keep all my good Nukes and battle trophies here."

"Oh," Arcade said. "I thought you were hiding all your murder victims here."

"Tell anyone where I stash all my fancy Nuka-Colas and I certainly will start doing so."

Soon Arcade and Layla were climbing up the motel's stairs to the Courier's room. Just as she was fitting the key in the lock, there came a call from behind.

"Arcade Israel Gannon, are you trying to sneak by me?"

Arcade turned, and despite his efforts not to, gave Daisy Whitman a sheepish look.

"We didn't want to bother you this late," Layla piped in, ever the diplomat.

"Oh brahmin shit," she cried. "You think I go to sleep at 5pm after having my old lady mush? Now you march your butt to my room, mister. You let the lady have a good night's sleep without your gangly legs kicking all night."

The doctor looked to Layla, who merely shrugged. Sighing, he followed Daisy.

"Yes Ma'am."

*.*.*

"Why does Rachel always get to be the Chosen One, Donald? I want to be the Chosen One!" Layla was nearing tears. It wasn't fair; her eldest brother's girlfriend didn't even know anything about the woman or all the stuff she'd done. And besides, Layla was the one with the genuine Vault 13 canteen. She kept that point to herself, though. Donald would end up giving it to Rachel if she mentioned it.

"What are you complaining about?" Ralph said sourly. "At least you don't have to be Enclave."

"Can I at least be a general?" Layla whined. "Or a Ranger! I'm a Ranger!"

"Fine! Let's get started before it gets too late!" Tony said and the two sides separated. Soon the children were running through the neighborhood, pointing guns made of sticks at each other and screaming.

"Die, evil Enclave spy!"

Layla sat up suddenly. Shaking her head, she rubbed her face, then checked her pip-boy. It was just six in the morning. Perfect; Boone wouldn't be off work for another few hours. Sitting back for a moment, she chuckled at her dream. She, her brothers and the neighbor kids played NCR vs. Enclave all the time when they were young. Things certainly had a way of changing when you got older.

Crawling out of bed, she searched around for her pants. Soon she was rooting through her fridge and trying to get her hot plate to work again.

*.*.*

Arcade watched as the sun lazily rose, silhouetting Dinky. He found himself wishing for a pot of Zion Coffee, as Layla had taken to calling it. He made a mental note to make sure the Courier survived the upcoming battle; Layla was the only one who could make the coffee right.

Not many in town were up and about yet, he'd noticed from his perch against the second floor railing. Cliff Briscoe had opened the gift shop for the day, and the doctor was pretty sure he'd heard No-Bark arguing with a tumbleweed. Hearing one of the doors below him open, he looked down to see Manny Vargas emerge. He started for the dinosaur as Arcade watched. Was it nine already?

Just as the former-Khan sniper was about to climb the stairs, the door to the gift shop opened, and Boone emerged. Manny jerked to a halt, but Boone walked down the stairs and past the other man as if he didn't exist.

It was a few moments before Manny moved again. He merely shook his head and walked into the dinosaur. Boone looked unaffected, but Arcade noted with interest the sniper hadn't seen him standing on the second level, very visibly. Normally he'd at least get a nod, but instead the man continued for Layla's room, face made of stone.

A moment later he knocked on her door, and after a pause it opened.

"Good morning!" came cheerily from inside the room over the sounds of Radio New Vegas. "Come in. I made a ton of food, so you'll have leftovers."

Arcade didn't need to see the sniper's face to know the man was smiling. Boone walked in, closing the door behind him. Hearing footsteps behind him, Arcade turned.

"Why don't you find yourself someone nice like that?" Daisy asked, somewhat accusingly.

"Who, Layla?"

"No, Boone. I'd like to take that bird out for a test flight," the old woman hooted.

"Oh, please don't do that. It's very weird hearing you talk lecherously about my friends."

The old woman chuckled. "Arcade, when you get to be my age, you enjoy the view whenever possible."

"I do that now," the doctor replied.

"Good!" She smiled, looking at the Courier's door again. "Anyway, it's nice to see a smile on Boone's face. Didn't think there'd ever be one again. Boy's too young to give up."

Arcade nodded in agreement. He'd seen Boone once before he'd ever actually talked to him. The doctor had come to visit Daisy and happened to catch sight of the man walking with his fairly pregnant wife. When Layla had later introduced them in Freeside, it had taken Arcade nearly a week to realize it was the same man. He'd figured no one would have recognized what had once been a smiling, nervous father-to-be as the grim-faced killer who was forever shadowing the Courier.

"So. Are you ever going to tell me why you're here?"

He looked over to find Daisy giving him a knowing expression. "Don't try to hide it," she continued. "You're terrible at keeping secrets from me."

"Well, I was hoping you could help us with something important," he started.

"Uh oh, you weren't leading some poor young thing on again, were you?"

"No." Arcade took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead.

"Is this about that problem you used to have when you were a youngster?"

"_No._"

"Did you somehow get a girl pregnant?"

"Christ! No." He shoved his glasses back on. "I told Layla about the Enclave Remnants." He pointed an accusing finger her way. "But apparently you'd already told her. How many people have you been spilling this to?"

"Oh don't get your short pants in a bunch. Layla wasn't going to go tattling on me," she said. Noting the sour look she was still getting, she gestured around. "Well, did she?"

"No, but you didn't know that," said Arcade. "She's pretty much the poster child for 'the good NCR citizen.' She even hangs up the posters!"

"I didn't get this far along all these years without getting a feel for people," Daisy said dismissively. "And no harm done. Now why are you getting the old unit together?"

"The Legion," Arcade said simply.

"I might have known," she said, starting to grin. "And you ought to know I'd be thrilled to help. Anything to get another chance to fly."

Arcade sighed, deciding to give up on his lecture about being more careful.

"Thank you."

*.*.*

"…They'd already shot off the tail rotor, and I thought for sure I was a goner. But the thing you have to understand is, if you mess up, it's not just your ass that gets squashed, it's the whole unit. So I brought her in, but by God she didn't want to work with me."

Layla nodded. She'd been sitting in Daisy's room listening to her Enclave stories for a good portion of the morning.

"Well, I'd better clean up," the Courier said eventually, looking at the various bowls and plates she'd brought with her to the old woman's room. She looked back up at Daisy. "Do you want me to wrap you up the leftovers?"

"Send them to Boone," Daisy crowed. "Poor boy probably hadn't had a good meal since he left the military before you came along."

"Carla didn't cook?" Layla asked.

"Well, from what I heard from Manny, she was learning. She hadn't taken naturally to it, but it didn't stop her from trying."

Layla smiled, but a troubled look came over her a moment later.

"Did you ever talk to him before… Carla went missing?" she asked.

"Well, he wasn't much of a talker even before that. After she disappeared, he clammed up completely. Wouldn't talk to Manny, wouldn't talk to anyone but Ranger Andy, and then only about threats to Novac, and those weren't very common."

Layla's troubled frown deepened.

"It was good for him to leave; figured the accounts were settled here in town when he headed out with you."

Now Layla looked worried. "You know what happened?"

"Oh honey, you two weren't very discreet," said Daisy. "Did you honestly think Andy and I wouldn't piece it together?"

The Courier bit her lip. "Does everyone know?"

"No no, just a few of us. No sense riling people up over a dead woman. Especially one who'd sell you to the Legion if she didn't like you."

Layla looked relieved again, but it faded. "I've met just about every kind of evil I can think of in the last few months. But she's the only one I've ever hated." She gave Daisy and Arcade a hard look. "She wasn't indoctrinated by the Legion, she wasn't raised by them. But she'd sell a woman and her unborn child to those monsters."

"Some people will do anything for money," Arcade said ruefully.

"Oh and it was the perfect little package," Layla continued, sneering. "1500 caps, and it keeps Boone from leaving."

"They were going to leave?" Arcade asked. "I thought they came out here to raise the baby."

"Carla wanted to move, he didn't." The dark look left her, replaced with a mischievous one. "He likes to act tough, but it only takes a little goading to get him to change his mind. If she'd kept up with her cooking, it'd wouldn't have taken long."

Arcade didn't mention that it was really only Layla who seemed able to get her way with Boone. Usually he was like an obstinate donkey made of stone when he made up his mind. The Courier's troubled look returned as they sat in silence. She shook away whatever dark thoughts were bouncing around her head and looked at Daisy.

"Anyway, speaking of the Legion, I suppose we ought to make our way to the bunker, huh?"

"Sounds good, girlie." Daisy stood and gathered a few things, strapped her cowboy repeater to her back and nodded.

"Let's go see my bird."

* * *

><p>I hope you enjoyed the new chapter, give a review if you're feeling it. 'Patriots' will conclude on Saturday. The following Saturday we will begin 'In War, Resolution.'<p>

See you Saturday!


	7. Stars and Stripes Forever

"I always took the scenic route coming home from missions," Daisy said fondly. "I always caught hell for it, but it was worth it. Anything to stay out in the air a little longer."

"Are… there a lot of these bunkers?" Layla asked as she, Daisy and Arcade traveled up Mt. Charleston, heading for the Remnants bunker. "You know, Enclave ones?"

"Back in our hey day, they were all over. Couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting one." The old woman seemed to notice the shade of green that had come over Layla and smiled. "I can't imagine many have been used in the last fifty years though."

Layla nodded, then bit her lip. "Is it true your power armor helmets have fear sensors and lie detectors?"

"What?" Arcade gaped. "W-why would you even think that?"

"Arcade," Layla said, sounding very serious, "in the last few days, almost ever horror story I was told as a child about the Enclave has been confirmed. I'm not dismissing anything now."

"Some of the fancy helmets had heat sensors," Daisy answered. "And when you lie or get scared, you body temperature can change."

"So, you do then," the Courier said, still looking ill. They were nearing the location of the bunker. They passed the path that led to Station Foxtrot, and she looked back to Daisy.

"Do you know how close this thing is to a ranger station?" she asked.

"Very," Daisy said, sounding amused. "But we were here first."

"I'm surprised you didn't walk over and tell them that," Arcade mused, getting a patient smile from Daisy.

"You are a worry-wart, you know that?"

"Isn't that the truth," Layla agreed.

Arcade glowered at the two women, who both ignored him. A few moments later, Daisy led them around a rock face to find an unassuming, barely-detectable hatch.

"Here we are," she said. "Pull that up, dear, and we'll hop down."

Arcade pried open the hatch, which Layla noted had been disturbed recently. They all climbed down the ladder to find an ominous, blue-lit door at the end of a cement hallway. Stopping at the door, she looked to Daisy.

"Well go on, you're the one who went scurrying around to get the code," the older woman said, shooing the girl toward the monitor near the door. The system was simple enough, though Layla did notice some very high-end counter-hacking protocols in the programming. She couldn't even input any simple work-arounds.

The pass code prompt came up, and she typed in 'Dear old friends, remember Navarro.' The door hissed open, leading to a corridor and stairway that looked very similar to the tech of Hidden Valley, and after checking to make sure Arcade and Daisy had followed her, she continued down the stairs.

There was another door, which opened to a hangar. A nearly pristine-looking vertibird sat in the center. A hatch in the incredibly high ceiling provided an exit for the vehicle.

The set up was impressive, especially for something that hadn't been maintained in decades. Her good impression of the facility came to an abrupt stop when she noticed the armor containers that lined the walls: six suits of power armor stared at her from behind force fields. Stared at her.

"Layla?"

She jumped with a small yelp when Arcade came up behind her. Turning, she found him shaking his head.

"They're not going to come alive and drag you down to hell."

"That's not what I hear," she responded.

"Good God, they really did a number on you," Daisy laughed. "Well, let's get a move on. The others are probably in the war room."

The old woman led them to the next room, where Judah, Doc Henry and Cannibal Johnson were all waiting for them. They were gathered around a circular strategy map, which dominated the room. Another map of the Mojave was projected on the wall, and Layla thought she saw a bank of monitors on the other side of the room.

"There you are," Judah said as they filed in. "We're just waiting on Orion then."

"Just how angry do we think he's going to be?" Layla asked, trying not to let her nervousness show.

"Well, have you ever seen a deathclaw with its hand caught in a bear trap?" Daisy said, and the others chuckled.

"Are you okay?" Doc Henry asked. "You look like you're going to be ill."

"I'm fine," the Courier said quickly as her stomach continued turning. "Great." She sighed at the disbelieving faces pointed at her. "This is a little hard for me to deal with," she admitted, noting the slightly amused looks of the group around her, "but I'll get over it. This situation is dire and your help is needed." She looked at the map display, then addressed Kreger.

"I'm obviously not going to go to the NCR brass about your involvement," she said to Kreger, "We need to come up with a plan."

"Well, we represent the only air cover," Kreger said, but Layla shook her head.

"Actually, the Boomers will be making a bomber run in their B-29." The astonished looks coming from the Remnants gave Layla a surprising burst of satisfaction. "But that's a good point. I'm going to have to tell them about you too. Otherwise there might be trouble."

Kreger frowned, but nodded. "Don't fancy having to get into a dog fight when we're on the same side. Even if it would make Daisy happy."

"I didn't say a word," the old woman crowed.

"I have a few ideas of where you'll be useful," Layla continued. "The main problem I'm having is getting word to you when it starts. How will I let you know to move?"

"That's simple enough," Doc Henry said as he moved to the strategy map. He called up another display, and after a burst of static, a voice came over the radio.

"Ranger team Delta-Six has returned," came a prim sounding voice. "Awaiting-"

"Get those men to the general's compound _now_," came another voice. Layla immediately recognized Colonel Moore, and she sounded particularly incensed.

"This has to be an encrypted channel," she sputtered, then noticed the others chuckling.

"The NCR never really had the best tech," Doc Henry said, grinning slightly. "You'd think they'd upgrade after all this time. We'll have plenty of warning that the battle's started."

Layla found herself shaking her head in amazement. She was starting to realize why people revered the Chosen One so much for her victory over the Enclave. They were terrifying.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and Orion Moreno stepping through.

"Good, we're all here," he grumbled. "What's the plan?"

"Orion, it's time we come clean with you," Judah said. Orion looked at him suspiciously. Layla noticed that they were all looking at her, waiting. She squared her shoulders, telling herself to stop being a wuss, and turned to Moreno.

"We're not helping the Legion," she said evenly. The man gave her an incredulous look.

"What? I don't suppose you're planning on taking over. You and your tin can army?" He chuckled.

"No." She glanced at Arcade, who was rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We're helping the NCR."

Now the silence in the room was palpably tense. Moreno's jaw had clenched and he stared hard at Layla.

"Orion, the war's been over for decades," Kreger started. "There's no Enclave left to avenge."

The glower on the other man's face intensified, and he nodded. Then, without a word, he turned and left the room.

Layla blinked, then looked to the others.

"You might want to go talk with him," Kreger said. "He's a good shot, and I'd rather we had him with us on this."

"Won't he listen to you more than me?" Layla asked. Kreger sighed.

"I'm not his commanding officer anymore. I haven't been for a long time. He doesn't hate the NCR as much as he thinks he does. But we've only got one chance at this. When he makes up his mind, it doesn't change."

Sighing, Layla nodded. "All right, I'll talk to him."

She turned and left the room. She didn't see Moreno in the hangar and wondered if he'd already made for the surface. Just as she started for the stairway, she heard a noise from the area where the power armor was stored.

"Orion?" she called. "We can talk about-" She stopped. He was turned away from her, facing the empty spot on the wall that had held the power armor he now wore. She'd spotted him just in time to see him put on the helmet, pick up his gatling laser, and turn to face her.

"I didn't come here to help the fucking NCR," the old man growled. "And I'm not leaving all this here for you to use."

Layla stood frozen. The rational part of her brain was screaming at her to do something, but she couldn't shake the fact that she was staring down a childhood nightmare incarnate.

She opened her mouth to try to talk him out of killing her, but nothing came out.

"Orion," Arcade's voice came from behind her, "she's not your enemy."

"Who is then, Arcade?" the older man bit out.

"Not the NCR, not anymore," he answered, stepping in front of Layla. "If you're still harboring grudges, that's fine. Go in, save the Mojave from certain doom and show the NCR how it's done."

Layla expected Moreno to laugh and start shooting, but instead he lowered his weapon. After a long pause he shook his head.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this… Fine. I'm in." He pulled the helmet off his head. "Don't expect me to hold my fire if any NCR troops get in the way." He stalked past them and back to the command room. Layla watched him go, then glanced back at Arcade.

"Silver tongue give out on you?" he asked, looking slightly amused.

"He-he was gonna murder me," she sputtered. "From my nightmares."

"I noticed," the doctor said, then shook his head. "You sure pick the best times to clam up."

Finally shaking off her shock, she gave him a mock-glare.

"Cram it, Gannon."

She started back toward the war room, but stopped when the doctor spoke up again.

"Thank you, for getting them all together," he said, sounding unsure as he continued. "I've spent so much time worrying about Daisy and the others, I never stopped to think about what I should be doing."

"What do you mean?" Layla asked, confused.

"I.. I was born in Navarro. My father was Enclave. But I'm not. I feel like I should go fight with them, but I know the Follower's are going to need me." He looked at her. "I don't know what to do."

Layla nodded, finally understanding. "You're not one of them, but you feel like you owe them."

He nodded. "I know. I know. I'm a doctor, not a fighter."

Layla scoffed. "Tell that to that pack of mercenaries. Anyway, I don't think the Remnants need anyone's help. The Followers, on the other hand, need all the help they can get."

"You're going to ask for their help at the dam, right?" the doctor asked, and Layla nodded.

"Then that's my decision. I'm staying with the Followers." He smiled at her. "Let the old warhorses do what they were made for."

She smiled back, and they were quiet for a moment. Arcade looked at the wall of power armor for a moment.

"I want you to have something," he said, then lead her to the armor containers. One suit in particular was more advanced than the others. There were energy capacitors on the back and helmet that fed into the suit, and the design looked lighter in general.

"It was my father's," Arcade said. "I thought about wearing it for the battle… but since I'm not going to be in the thick of it, and you will be, I want you to have it."

Layla blinked at him, then smiled.

"Arcade… you're probably as tall as your father… right?"

"Yeah, why?" he asked, sounding confused.

"I don't even come up to your shoulders," she said. "I won't be able to see out of that thing's neck hole."

The doctor looked back to the armor on the wall.

"Huh."

*.*.*

"All right, _carefully_ now," Daisy said, sounding exasperated. Arcade smirked, looking up from the map display; the old woman's reserve of patients was remarkably still holding out.

"Okay," the Courier said, clad in the old woman's power armor. It was still too big for her, but at least she could get her head in the helmet and her feet in the boots at the same time. She started taking a cautious step. "This isn't so-AH!"

There was the sound of crashing, a few curses, then laughter. By the time Arcade looked up to investigate, he found the Courier flat on her back, struggling to move.

"You're all a pack of jerks," Layla said as the Remnant members looked down at her.

"Quit squirming," Daisy laughed. "What did I say about getting up?"

"Roll over and get on your hands and knees," Layla said automatically.

"Well?" Daisy prompted when the girl didn't move.

"I can't roll over."

The old woman shook her head. A moment later, she and Johnson were helping the girl to her feet.

"Why are you doing this if you're not going to use the armor?" Arcade asked as Layla gingerly attempted to take another step. She stopped and looked his way.

"If I know how it works and how it moves and what the drawbacks are, I'll know how to make the best use of it." She took another successful step. "General Oliver doesn't know it yet, but none of the forces I've brought to the table will be under his control."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I doubt he'll want all of them anyway, but the Boomers, Brotherhood, Enclave…" she nodded to the Remnants, "…never mind our happy little group, Oliver isn't calling the shots for any of them. We'll be following our own plan. But how could I send people into combat in power armor if I didn't know you can kill yourself if you move wrong?"

Arcade looked at her thoughtfully. "Do you have a plan for everyone?"

"Well… sorta." She grinned. "Part of the beauty of our group will be flexibility, something that I think is lacking in Oliver's plan."

"You think he would have learned from the first battle," said Arcade.

"That was all Chief Hanlon thinking on the ball. I think Joshua had the 'If it isn't broke, don't fix it,' mindset, which, to be fair, had been working. But we can't afford to think that everything's going to go smoothly."

"'Joshua?'" Arcade asked. Layla's eyes widened, then she smiled at him.

"Joshua Graham, you know, the 'Malpais Legate,'" she said casually. "The one they couldn't kill no matter how many times 1st Recon popped him?"

"That just goes to show how poorly trained NCR snipers are," Orion muttered, and Arcade noted Layla giving the soldier a dirty look. Before he could ask if her trip to the Fort had put her on a first-name basis with any other Legion members, she continued.

"Once we've got this armor business covered, we'll come up with some plans," the Courier said firmly. "Then I'd like to go see Julie."

"Good," Arcade said, giving up on teasing her. He'd wanted to visit the Old Mormon Fort as well.

*.*.*

"I don't think this is going to be as easy as you think," Arcade murmured as he and Layla made their approach to Julie Farkas.

"As long as she doesn't point a gatling laser at me, I don't mind," Layla responded. Boone raised an eyebrow at that. Layla had been careful to dodge any explanations of what they'd been up to, but the sniper hadn't been overly inquisitive since they'd picked him up.

"There she is," the Courier said. Julie smiled as they walked up to her.

"Cass has been released," she said to them. "Your friends have already brought her back to the Strip."

"Excellent," Layla replied, and Arcade felt a pang of guilt; he had forgotten about the woman's injured state in all the recent confusion and worry.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Julie asked.

"I'd like to ask you and the Followers to help the NCR in the upcoming battle at the Dam," Layla said, not beating around the bush. Julie raised an eyebrow in Arcade's direction. He merely shrugged.

"Why would we want to help them?" Julie asked, sounding slightly irritated. "Their incompetence causes countless casualties, mainly in their own soldiers. Never mind their monopoly on the water and energy in the area."

She hadn't sounded overly hostile, but she gave Boone an almost challenging look. The sniper merely stared back at her, apparently unaffected.

"I know you don't see eye-to-eye with them anymore," Layla said. "But it'll be much worse if the Legion takes over. This isn't something any of us can just ignore."

Julie frowned. "I agree, but we're not fighters. We'd be annihilated on the battlefield as front-line medics."

"I was thinking more along the lines of setting up a medical station out of the combat zone." Layla said, then gave her a grin. "And some of you are definitely fighters."

The other woman crossed her arms over her chest, thinking for a moment. She sighed, then looked back to the Courier.

"Very well. We'll be there."

"Thank you," Layla said. "We don't have a lot of time to prepare. I'll try to make sure we get a plan worked out that you're happy with."

"Good," Julie said, nodding. She looked at Arcade. "We could definitely use your help, if she'll let you out of her sight."

He nodded. "I'll be there."

Julie smiled. "Glad to hear it. There's going to be a lot to do."

"I guess I'd better get working then," he continued, walking with Layla and Boone to the fort's exit. "You're going to have to be more careful without me around to patch you up." He looked back, "Good luck, and thank you." The Courier gave him a surprised look.

"You're not coming back to the 38?"

"There's work to be done here," Arcade answered. To be truthful, he'd wanted this to be their goodbye. There was a very good chance neither of them would survive the battle. He wanted this to be quick, like ripping off a bandage.

"Oh." Layla bit her lip. "You can't come back just for tonight? Before it all starts?"

He really didn't want to. It wasn't like he hadn't become friends with Layla and the others. But he had never been good with goodbyes. It was usually best to just let people go instead of trying too hard to hold on to them.

She was reading his face, and seemed to see his answer. She took a deep breath.

"Okay." There was a waver in her voice. "I… Thank you. For everything."

Oh God, and now she looked like she was fighting back tears. Arcade had decided a long time ago that he wasn't susceptible to the Courier's charisma. But he also had discovered a long time ago that he wasn't made of stone. He caught Julie giving him an exasperated look and motioning for him to go. Boone was openly glaring at him.

"All right! I'll go back for one more night."

Layla's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yes yes yes, let's go."

A smile split her face, and she hugged him. The doctor sighed loudly.

"They should weaponize your ability to guilt people," he said. Layla let him go and gave him a searching look.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she said, pouting.

"Turn it off! I'm going," Arcade cried, then put his arm over her shoulders and led her toward the fort's exit. "Besides, I don't want Boone beating me up for making you sad."

*.*.*

Arcade stared into his coffee. He shouldn't have been drinking it in the first place; it was already late, and now he'd be up for a few more hours. He was supposed to be getting up early to leave in the morning. The Courier, in her ultimate deviousness, had made a pot of coffee just as he'd thought about turning in.

"No no no! AAAACK!" He shook his head at the screaming from the hall. Layla had brought Cass a 'post-get-well' bottle of Jake Juice. The caravaneer had decided to share it, and now she, Layla and Veronica were running through the hall of the suite, shooting each other with Layla's stun gun.

"YOU GIRLS CUT THAT OUT!" Lily bellowed a moment later. There was a chorus of giggles that faded as the girls ran into the bedroom.

He heard footsteps entering the kitchen and looked up to see Boone walk in. The sniper poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the table, across from the doctor.

"You didn't get zapped?" Arcade asked.

"Cass tried, I disarmed her. They didn't try again," he answered. There was a semi-comfortable silence before he spoke again.

"So, Daisy raised you," Boone said, sounding casual. Alarm bells started going off in Arcade's head; Layla had promised not to tell the sniper about Arcade's past, and the doctor had a hard time believe she'd go back on her word. But the man wouldn't bring this up randomly.

"After my mother died," Arcade managed to get out. Boone merely nodded.

"Daisy's not very good at keeping secrets…" he said, and Arcade felt his stomach drop. There was no way he'd be able to get past the other man to the elevator. The girls were all drunk and would probably think Boone was just jokingly murdering him for being a dirty Enclave spy. His only hope was Lily-

"But I am."

It took a few moments to for what Boone had said to settle in. Arcade looked at the other man, perplexed, but found the sniper giving him a steady, accepting look.

Arcade laughed, despite himself. "I wasn't expecting clemency from you."

Boone merely shrugged. "Probably would have shot you if I'd known sooner."

"What changed?"

"Plenty," was all he said before going back to his drink. Arcade laughed again.

"Well, that's certainly true."

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading. Next Saturday we'll begin 'In War, Resolution.'<p>

I'd like to take this time to bring up that there are four more stories in the series. Will that be it for Layla and her crew? Probably not, we'll see. As of the 1st of the month, I've been doing this for a year. I didn't think I'd make it through the original story, so time will tell how long things will go.

For all those who are also playing Skyrim: the guy who played Boone is the voice of the male bards. Also, many of the Dunmer are Joshua Graham's voice. Which is delightful.


End file.
